[1] Thiel, a man of "Herculean" stature and diligent churchgoer, is working as a lineman near Erkner, Brandenburg, Germany.
One year later, Thiel marries again, this time former maid Lene, a big and strong, but also domineering and quarrelsome woman, and has a second child with her.
Thiel notices signs of abuse on Tobias, who is overtly disliked by his stepmother, but he pretends not to see them despite his love to his son.
When a group of workers carrying the dead Tobias arrive at his home, they discover the bodies of Lene and her child, both brutally murdered.
Thiel is arrested at the site of the accident and, due to his state of frenzy, interned in a mental institution, all the while holding his son's bobble hat.